Effect of low-temperature annealing on the luminescent lifetime and negative differential resistance of silicon-implanted borosilicate glass

Abstract

The silicon-implanted borosilicate glass (BSO:Si+) low-temperature (500 degreesC) annealed at a different time are structurally, electrically, and optically characterized. The weak and broadened x-ray diffraction reveal insignificant Si nano-crystallization even after long-term annealing, whereas the redshifted photoluminescence (PL) interprets the change in category and the decrease in density of irradiative defects in BSO:Si+. Time-resolved PL analysis reveals a lengthening luminescent lifetime of BSO:Si+ from 1.7 to 2.8 ns, which indicates that the density ratio of nonradiative defects in as-implanted BSO:Si+ are reduced by one-tenth after annealing for 60 min. Transmission line mode analysis shows that both the leakage current and the contact resistance of a metal-BSO:Si+-metal diode has dramatically changed by three orders of magnitude. A strong negative differential resistance (NDR) and associated double-barrier electron tunneling phenomenon are observed with a threshold electric field of 290-350 kV/cm. The decreasing barrier height of the metal-BSO:Si+ junction from 3.0 to 1.9 eV is mainly contributed by deep-level defects with activation energy of similar to1 eV. After annealing, the NDR effect significantly diminishes, the barrier height raises to >2.4 eV, and most electrical characteristics of the metal-BSO:Si+ junction have recovered back to be comparable with those of the metal-BSO junction due to the elimination of these defects. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.